BVI athletes shining on the track as youth head to Anguilla

BY DEAN GREENAWAY

BVI quarter miler Kevin Fahie on Saturday joined Tahesia Harrigan as NCAA Regional qualifiers for their schools, as he recorded a personal best 400 meters performance during the weekend Cal-Nevada Championships in Fresno, California.

The Cal State Northridge Jr., on Friday, won his 400 meter heat in 47.96 seconds and was second in the 200 meters in 21.83. He finished seventh overall in the 400 meters on Saturday, then false started in the 200 meters. He anchored the 4 x 100 meter relay to a Regional qualifying time of 40.55 seconds then brought the 4 x 400 squad from fifth to third with his 47 seconds anchor leg, as the team ran a overall time of 3 minutes, 15.89 seconds.

“I felt good in the heats and eased up because I knew I was already in the finals,” Fahie said of his 400 meter heat victory. “In the 200 eased again in the semis, then I got false started in the finals. That really upset me, because I knew I was going to do good. I knew I had a good chance in placing.”

Fahie said he felt good after the prelims in both events and his confidence going into the finals was high. “And everything kind of fell apart on Saturday,” Fahie said. “I just didn’t do what I had to do. I let my mind take over after getting a blister in the 4 x 100 relay. It hampered my performance, but, I got it together by the 4x 400 relay.”

Prior to the Cal-Nevada Championships, Fahie, a Cal State Northridge Jr. recovered from two sub par performances because of illness and won his 400 meter heat in 48.20 seconds, at the Mr. Sac Relays, his second fastest time this season, while Keita Cline was fourth in his 200 meter heat in a wind aided 21.12 seconds. Fahie contributed a 48.0 lead off leg to his team’s third place finish in the 4 x 400 relay that ran 3:12.92. At the Cal State LA Invitational earlier in the week, he won the 200 meters in 21.67 seconds. This weekend, Fahie will compete at the Cal Poly triangular that also includes his Cal State Northridge team and Fresno State.

Sprinter Tahesia Harrigan, was second in Saturday’s LSU Alumni 100 meters in a wind aided time of 11.42 seconds, representing the University of Alabama. “It wasn't smooth,” Harrigan explained. “I felt like I was working too hard on one side because my hip got jammed during the Long Jump.” Harrigan was unable to complete the Long Jump event following the slight injury, but expects to compete at the weekend Drake Relays in Iowa. Harrigan was coming off setting a national Long Jump record at the Mt. Sac Relays in California, on April 16.

She cracked the six-meter barrier in the Long Jump for the first time, with a career best leap of 6.06 meters (19’10¾”), to place third overall during the Saturday competition. The mark eclipsed her previous national record of 5.91 meters (19’4¾”) from May 2002. On Sunday, she recorded times of 11.53 and 24.06 in the 100 and 200 meters, to finish fourth and fifth in her respective heats. Harrigan has recorded seasons best of 11.43 and 23.93—both NCAA Regional qualifying marks.

Meanwhile, Central Arizona College’s Ackim Lewis ran 50.83 seconds over 400 meters at a weekend meet in San Diego. Half miler Ludence Smith, a junior at the University of New Orleans, recorded a time of 1 minute 57.56 seconds at the Vanderbilt Invitational 800 meters in Tennessee, after opening his season with 1:57.26 at the Tulane Invitational, in Louisiana.

Trent Harrigan, another upcoming BVI athlete, was fourth at the Florida High School regional 400 meters in Tallahassee, with a time of 50.35 seconds. He was coming off a 50.25 performance at the District Championships. Harrigan had a season’s best 49.41 in his previous competition—the second fastest Under-18 performance by a BVI athlete.

At last week’s Spira Invitational in El Paso, Texas, Deon Marquis and Adriana Herbert posted wind aided times of 11.97 and 12.19 over 100 meters and 25.08 and 25.26 respectively in the 200 meters.

This weekend, 32 BVI athletes will compete in the Leeward Islands Youth Championships for Under 15 athletes in Anguilla. The team will be headed by Carifta Games Long and Triple Jumps bronze medalist, Chantel Malone.